


Bremen

by Roshwen



Series: Field trips [6]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, German Christmas markets are the best honestly, Romance, Technically it's OT3 but Jake isn't there so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 05:58:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13117497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roshwen/pseuds/Roshwen
Summary: Alternatively titled: Ezekiel takes Cassandra on a Christmas date‘t was a couple of nights before Christmas and Cassandra did not want to admit it to anyone, least of all herself, but she was feeling a little bummed out. This all changes with one message from Ezekiel, which leads to a fluffy Christmas city trip.





	Bremen

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Christmas eve eve! Here's my present to you and it's Caszekiel Fluff!

‘t was a couple of nights before Christmas and Cassandra did not want to admit it to anyone, least of all herself, but she was feeling a little bummed out.

She had already decorated the Annex last week, everybody’s presents were sitting in a tidy pile on her kitchen table and she had laid out her Christmas outfit days ago. Now, there was nothing left to do but wait. And Cassandra _hated_ waiting. Christmas carols were fun to listen to while gift wrapping, or when you were walking through a mall that was decorated like a bunch of elves had been let loose with fake snow and glittery tinsel, but not while you were alone in your apartment. Not while the weather outside was only frightful because it would not stop raining, or while both your boyfriends had promised they’d all celebrate Christmas together this year, but tonight they had ‘stuff to do’ so she was left to enjoy her pre-Christmas cocoa by herself.

Which should be _fine._ She was _used_ to being on her own around Christmas. At least this time, she knew her boys would be back either tomorrow or the day after that, and she would not have to spend the holidays alone. There was no _reason_ for her to feel so down, or to stare wistfully out of the window, trying to pretend her eyes were not stinging as she watched the dull grey street that was not covered in a thick blanket of snow.

_Damn._ This had to stop.

She turned away from the window, silently berating herself for being such a Christmas sap. Christmas was what you made of it, after all, and why should she let her pre-Christmas be ruined by silly things like a lack of snow or boys? She would just make some more cocoa, curl up on the couch with a blanket or two and watch cheesy Christmas movies until she fell asleep. That sounded like a much better plan than wallow in self-pity and it was how she had spent some of her best Christmases anyway.

Resove hardened and spirit already lifted, she started to make her way to the kitchen when her phone started to flash with a message from Ezekiel.

_Surprise Christmas date, princess. Be @ the Annex 8am tomorrow morning._ Followed by a string of Christmas emoji’s.

Cassandra suddenly did not mind her lonely evening anymore.

\---

She was at the Annex at 7.45am, which left her fiddling with the golden tassels on her dark green dress for almost twenty minutes before Ezekiel showed up, bundled up in a dark coat and shaking the rain out of his hair while muttering something about bloody Oregon and bloody freezing rain in the middle of December.

‘Is there snow where we are going?’ Cassandra asked by way of greeting, to excited to bother hiding it. Her grin was infectious and spread to Ezekiel’s face as well as he shook his head. ‘Nope, sorry. But that’s about the only thing missing, so I was hoping you wouldn’t mind.’

Cassandra wouldn’t have minded a thing. As she wrapped herself around Ezekiel and pulled him down for a kiss, secretly enjoying the scent and taste of oranges, she already felt like it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

\---

The door spits them out in a narrow alleyway lined with cobblestones. It’s already getting dark here, which tells Cassandra they are somewhere in Europe, but it’s not until she sees the word _Konditorei Berndt_ that she knows they’re in Germany. It’s raining here as well, a soft drizzle that shines silver in the late afternoon, but Cassandra doesn’t care. Because Ezekiel’s hand is in the small of her back, guiding her out of the alley and into…

Christmas.

The rain turns from silver to gold in the strings and strings of lights that are hanging _everywhere,_ from the trees, the streetlights, along the tiny wooden stalls that are lining the streets and which display a dazzling array of decorations, jewelry, candles and all kinds of other items. A hundred different smells waft through the air from a hundred different directions: chestnuts and cotton candy, bratwurst and mulled wine, pretzels and something that looks like mushrooms covered in cheese and garlic. There is a crowd of people moving up and down the street, admiring the stalls, pressing together around a table and clutching incredibly kitschy looking but steaming mugs, talking, laughing and singing along with the christmas carols that are blaring overhead.

Cassandra is so busy staring at everything in awe, that she only notices Ezekiel disappeared when he walks up to her again with a mischievous grin. ‘Welcome to Bremen, princess,’ he says as he holds out a green Santa hat. ‘Thought you might want to look the part.’

Cassandra’s smile is so wide her face is starting to hurt. She takes the hat and puts it on, smoothing down the long end so that it lies over her red curls. Then she grabs Ezekiel by the lapels of his coat, drags him close and kisses him so fiercely, they don’t need any mulled wine to feel dizzy.

‘Thank you,’ she whispers as they break apart, Ezekiel’s arms still a warm weight around her shoulders as she leans in against him.

He presses a kiss to her forehead, then looks down at her with one of her favorite smiles: the soft, fond one that he keeps only for her (and Jake, when Jake isn’t looking). ‘My pleasure,’ he says, the soft smile making place for one of his usual smirks. ‘Now, have you had breakfast yet?’

\---

Germans are _very_ good at baking, Cassandra discovers as they walk out of the Konditorei again, feeling considerably less hungry than when they went in. Two massive slices of a cake that appeared to be mostly whipped cream and chocolate, accompanied by two equally massive cups of chocolate milk will do that to a person. The added benefit is of course that kissing Ezekiel now tastes like oranges, cream and chocolate, as Cassandra loses no time in finding out.

\---

But they can’t keep standing there kissing each other all day, so eventually they let go, Cassandra links her fingers through Ezekiel’s and they set off to wander through the Christmas market.

They walk past rows and rows of stalls, each one decked out in holly, fake snow and fairy lights and selling the most wonderful things. From gemstones to candles, from hand crafted wooden decorations to delicate glass figurines and from organic cheese to organic tea and everything in between, it takes all Cassandra’s self control not to draw her creditcard and go on a massive spending spree.

‘You know you can buy something if you really want, right?’ Ezekiel murmurs into her ear after they have spent fifteen minutes in front of a stall where silver and gemstones are sparkling in their dark blue velvet cases, rings, necklaces and bracelets that are practically begging Cassandra to try them on.

Cassandra bites her lip, but shakes her head. ‘Maybe later,’ she murmurs back before she takes his hand again and they move on to the next stall.

There, she hesitates even longer. Because there they are standing in front of a rack with heavy wool sweaters, lined with fleece and decorated with a kind of understated nordic pattern. They look rustic and warm and solid, much like…

‘I believe the cowboy is a size M,’ Ezekiel says. ‘And he looks good in dark blue.’

Cassandra nods and gets out her wallet.

\---

It’s not until they are standing at a table, both breathing in the steam of the mulled wine in their hands, that Cassandra finally recognizes the name of the town. She looks at Ezekiel in alarm. ‘Did you just say we’re in Bremen? Like, the fairytale town?’

Ezekiel nods. ‘Yeah, weird coincidence, that. Turns out the town we went to earlier is actually named after this one, _and_ that there’s also a fairytale about this one.’ He takes a sip of his mulled wine. ‘Something about a bunch of animals who all had to stand on top of each other for some reason. Cowboy explained it to me, I wasn’t really listening but I can look it up if you want?’

‘Nah,’ Cassandra says as she looks at him over the rim of her mug. ‘I bet there’s a fairytale book back at the Library. Or Jake will be happy to explain it to both of us in excruciating detail.’

‘No doubt,’ Ezekiel says as he bumps his mug against hers.

\---

The mulled wine mugs are bright green and the shape of a boot. You can keep them as well, as Ezekiel explains to Cassandra when he sees her looking wistfully at the almost empty mug. Or she can go and get a clean one from the nice people at the bar, so that her purse won’t smell of mulled wine later on.

It’s an obvious play and Cassandra is not at all surprised to find out that Ezekiel has disappeared when she returns to the table. He turns up again not five minutes later, an angelic expression on his face that does not fool her for a second. But instead of asking questions, because she is a bit more eager to find out what mulled wine kisses taste like. (Answer: very nice).

\---

The market ends at the town’s square, where instead of market stalls, there is a mini carnival set up, with a merry-go-round, a shooting range and the tiniest ferris wheel Cassandra has ever seen. It’s barely higher than the buildings surrounding the square, but when Ezekiel tugs her along in the direction of the ticket booth she is happy to follow.

When they get into the cart and the wheel starts turning, Cassandra scoots close until she’s pressed up against Ezekiel’s side, resting her head on his shoulder with a happy little sigh. Ezekiel’s arm wraps around her and squeezes her even tighter as he turns his head and drops a kiss into her hair.

Up and up the ferris wheel goes. It’s fully dark by now, and it’s gotten colder as well. The lights of the carnival down on the square glow like gold and silver stars against the dark cobblestones. It’s a very far cry from the night Cassandra spent on her own yesterday and in that moment, safe and warm against Ezekiel in a world that looks exactly like her Christmas dreams come true, she has everything she wants and then a bit more.

Of course, that is the moment Ezekiel shifts and reaches into his pocket. ‘I ehm… I got you something,’ he says as Cassandra looks up. ‘I just… we never went back to that jewelry stall and you seemed to really like what they had, so.’

He hands her a small green box with a golden bow on top. When Cassandra opens it, a bit breathless, she sees a delicate gold chain necklace with an pale white gold snowflake pendant, sparkling in the lights of the ferris wheel.

‘I’m not sure how accurate that snowflake is,’ Ezekiel is saying, ‘I mean, I know there’s all kinds of physics involved with snowflakes, but. I thought it suited you.’

Cassandra barely hears him, busy as she is swallowing the sudden lump in her throat.

‘It’s beautiful,’ she whispers once she’s finally found her voice again. ‘Thank you.’

She carefully closes the box again to put it in her purse, when she remembers. Ezekiel isn’t the only one who went on a sneak shopping expedition that day. She turns to him with one hand still in her purse, wrapped around the small object she found while he was getting them both pretzels. ‘I… I got something for you as well.’

Ezekiel frowns. ‘Cass, you... ‘

‘If you’re about to say that I shouldn’t have, you can shut it,’ she says, taking the present out of her purse. ‘It’s not much, but I thought you might like it.’

When Ezekiel sees what it is, he sits motionless for a moment, then reaches out very carefully to take the miniature kangaroo from her. It’s made of some kind of gemstone, shiny turquoise and smooth to the touch. He turns it around and around in his hands, still in astonished silence as Cassandra says: ‘I know you miss it there sometimes. I… wanted to get you something from home, but this was the closest I could…oomph!’

‘Thank you,’ Ezekiel whispers into her shoulder, holding her so tight that she can barely breathe. ‘ _Thank you.’_

They stay wrapped up in each other like that until the ferris wheel has made another full turn. It’s only when they are going back up again that Ezekiel draws back and looks at Cassandra with a mischief in his eyes that she absolutely loves, because it always means something good is coming. ‘Did you know,’ he murmurs, voice pitched low in a way that never fails to make her shiver, ‘I’ve never done this before.’ He gestures around to indicate the ferris wheel.

‘Ride a ferris wheel?’ Cassandra asks, playing along even though she knows where Ezekiel is going.

She’s right. Ezekiel shakes his head before he cups her cheek and pulls her close. ‘No,’ he says softly, lips already brushing against hers in a delicious tease. ‘Kiss a girl at the top of a ferris wheel.’

‘Then you better start now,’ Cassandra says, and that is exactly what Ezekiel proceeds to do.

 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find the fairytale about the Town Musicians of Bremen [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_Musicians_of_Bremen).


End file.
